Photo: Man Connives With Security Men To Kill Friend For Rituals

                                                                  Afobaje, Tanko & Suleiman

An Alfa in the Badagry area of Lagos State, Fatai Afobaje,
has been accused of conspiring with some security men in his area to kill his
friend, Rafiu Suleiman.

Police sources said after the 40-year-old was dead, Afobaje,
along with five others, shared his remains among themselves for ritual
purposes.

It was gathered that what remained of the late Kwara State
indigene was recovered by men of the Nigeria Police Force on Monday, after an
intensive search.

The incident happened at Oko Agbonla, Magbon in the Badagry
area.

Punch Metro gathered that Afobaje and Suleiman had been
friends for a long time, and the deceased had given a lot of money to the
suspect.

Afobaje was said to have conspired with the Chief Security
Officer of the area, identified only as Tanko, to kill Suleiman on Friday.

Our correspondent learnt that apart from the corpse, the
police also recovered a clay pot which contained the fingers of the deceased
with a few naira notes.

A source said the two men had met in a commercial bus and
became friends that lasted for years.

He said, “The two men met in a commercial bus. Suleiman had
offered to pay the transport fare of Afobaje after the conductor was about
embarrassing him because he had no change.

“The Alfa then said he would like to know him better for being
so gracious to him (Alfa). So, Suleiman gave the Alfa his address and asked him
to visit.

“That was how the friendship started. From what we found
out, Suleiman, who worked as a crane operator, would collect his salary and
give half of it to Alfa at the end of the month and that happened for a long
time.”

The source, who added that investigation was still on, said
Afobaje suddenly connived with his friends to kill Suleiman.

Another source said on Friday, last week, the victim was
called by Alfa to come for a meeting around 8pm.

He said, “As soon as the victim got to the street’s gate,
the security guards surrounded him and asked who he was looking for. When he
told them, they flogged him with charms and he died.

“They then called the Alfa to come and when he arrived, they
shared his body parts. While one collected his head, another demanded all his
intestines, while another asked for his breasts, which were given out.”

Our correspondent learnt that when the victim’s boss did not
find him, he made a call to his wife, who explained that she had yet to also
see him.

His boss was said to have contacted policemen from the
Morogbo division who then launched a search for him.

The deceased’s brother, Yinusa Wahab, told Punch Metro that
the victim’s wife asked him to search Afobaje’s house, adding that the victim
was there.

Wahab said, “We went to the house, but he was not around. We
searched everywhere and didn’t see my brother. Later, we saw a mutilated corpse
floating on a stream near the house. It was swollen and there was no head. The
breast had been cut off.

“We went back to the house and as we looked around, I saw
some fingers in a pot which were still being burnt and when I saw them, I could
recognise that they belonged to my brother.”

The police were said to have apprehended the suspect, and he
reportedly named the chief security officer as an accomplice.

Afobaje, when queried, owned up to the act, saying he
divided the body with the other suspects.

He said, “He was on his way to my house when he was killed.
When I got there, he had been killed and then we shared his body. I urge my
accomplices to also confess because the act has been uncovered and there is
nothing we can do about it.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command,
Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the incident.

He said, “The decomposing corpse of the victim has been
recovered, while Alfa Fatai has been arrested.

“The matter has been transferred to the State Department of
Criminal Investigation, Yaba.”